by Paul Simister
on December 13, 2016
The full title of this book by Ken Blanchard, William Oncken Jr and Hal Burrows is
“The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey: Free Up Your Time And Deal With Priorities“.
In my review on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a FIVE STARS rating. This means I think the book is excellent.
Here is my book review.
If you’re rushed off your feet, this book might be the answer
When I first read read this book in the early 1990s, it was a huge wake-up call.
No wonder there weren’t enough working hours in the day as I allowed my staff’s monkeys to jump onto my shoulders. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on December 13, 2016
The full title of this book by Kenneth Blanchard, Patricia Zigarmi and Drea Zigarmi is
“Leadership and the One Minute Manager: Increasing Effectiveness Through Situational Leadership“.
In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book the book a FIVE STARS rating. This means I think it is excellent.
Here is my book review.
The third excellent One Minute Manager book
This is the third One Minute Manager book I recommend without hesitation. The others are the update of the original book The New One Minute Manager (The One Minute Manager) and The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey (The One Minute Manager).
The original book introduced a simple model based on management by goals/objectives. The Monkey book stops delegation going badly wrong as you try to e supportive in the wrong way. This book introduces situational leadership although it’s probably more accurate to call it situational management. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on December 12, 2016
The full title of this book by Ken Blanchard Don Hutson and Ethan Willis is
The One Minute Entrepreneur: The Secret to Creating and Sustaining a Successful Business
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book Three Stars. This means Worthwhile.
Here is my review.
Not as good as I’d hoped but worth reading if you’re thinking about starting a business
I love the early One Minute Manager books and I had high hopes for this one. It follows a story format as usual for the One Minute series, looking at the story of Jud and Terri McCarley and their speaking business JTA. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on November 25, 2016
I have identified a tightly defined business library of 12 great books suitable for entrepreneurs and business owners.
The list will keep developing as I find new books to include but I don’t want the list to exceed twelve books. I’ve read and reviewed hundreds of business books and you can discover the full list at Business Book Reviews including my ratings from 1 to 5 Stars.
Why 12? It’s a book a month and then, in the second year, I recommend you read them again.
If you need helping applying the ideas and your business is based in the UK, it may be time for a complimentary Business SOS.
The Twelve Best Business Books For Business Owners & Entrepreneurs
These are the twelve books I currently recommend most strongly. Below the list, I explain why the books are included. The links take you to reviews on this website and not to Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.
- The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber – *****
- Getting Everything You Can Out Of All You’ve Got by Jay Abraham – *****
- The Genghis Khan Guide to Business by Brian Charles John Warnes – *****
- The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes – *****
- Duct Tape Marketing by John Jantsch – *****
- The Brain Audit By Sean D’Souza – *****
- Blue Ocean Strategy by W Chan Kim and Renee A Mauborgne and Blue Ocean Shift by the same authors. – *****
- The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard & Spencer Johnson – *****
- Profits Aren’t Everything They’re the Only Thing by George Cloutier – *****
- Forget the Urgent!: Rather Focus On The Important by Matias Birrell and Javier Arevalo – *****
- My provisional choice on the Inner Game (what the business owner thinks and feels) is Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. It’s been a hugely influential book and many entrepreneurs love it although it feels a bit old fashioned to me.
- A book about clearer thinking and better decision making. My provisional choice is Thinking Smarter by Michael Kallett.
You can get these from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk
[continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on December 8, 2015
The full title of this book by Ken Blanchard and Margaret McBride is
“The One Minute Apology: A Powerful Way to Make Things Better“.
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I rated the book as worth Four Stars. This means it is Good and Well Worth Reading.
Here is my book review.
The apology starts by admitting that you’ve made a mistake and will take responsibility for your actions.
This book, like the other One Minute Manager books, is told in the form of a story and it makes some powerful points in an entertaining way.
According to management guru Brian Tracy, “I was wrong” are three of the most important words that a manager can learn to say. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on December 8, 2015
The full title of this book by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles is
“Raving Fans : A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service“.
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave it a rating of Four Stars. This means I think it is Good and Well Worth Reading.
Here is my book review.
A vital message wrapped in an irritating story but the ideas are good
The critical message of this book is that satisfied customers are not good enough…you need Raving Fans.
This carries on the One Minute Manager traditional of books of educating you through a story. The gist is that the Area Manager (never named) is in a new job and he is told to forget his plans for Total Quality and instead to embrace customer service if he wants to last longer than the eight months average time in the role from his last three predecessors. Charlie arrives, his golf addicted fairy Godmother to teach him. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on December 7, 2015
The full title of this book by Kenneth Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles is
Gung Ho!: How To Motivate People In Any Organization
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book Three Stars. This means Worthwhile.
Here is my book review.
American Indian based fable on how to get employees working better but it lacks substance
This book promises to teach you how to motivate people in any organisation so you can increase productivity, profits and your own prosperity.
It tells the story of how Peggy Sinclair and Andy Longclaw (an American Indian), that is a new plant manager and the manager of one department regarded as troublesome saved the plant from threatened closure by making the work force Gung Ho!
It is written as a true story but I have my doubts and there is a sentimentality in the book that I found hard to take. It starts with the deathbed scene as Peggy promises to share the secrets with the world after Andy dies.
The book presents the three secrets to turning a business Gung Ho and while it is a short book, it still seemed padded out to me and could have been told more precisely.
The three secrets can be found in nature – hence the American Indian in the story:
1 – The Spirit of the Squirrel – basically the idea that people work best when they know they are doing worthwhile work.
2 – The Way of the Beaver – give your employees control over how they achieve the goals
3 – The Gift of the Goose – cheer each other on as work improves and the business becomes more successful.
As normal with the Ken Blanchard / One Minute Manager books, it is easy to read (once you can stomach the sentimentality) and while the main messages are not brought out in the text so you can quickly scan for them, there is a two page summary of each way to Gung Ho at the end of the book.
I am a Ken Blanchard fan of the “common-sense lessons” told in a simple story form but I was disappointed by this book. The basic ideas of are sound and the link to nature has interest to me but I found myself thinking “is that it?” when I’d finished.
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by Paul Simister
on December 7, 2015
The full title of this book by Ken Blanchard, John Britt, Pat Zigarmi and Judd Hoekstra is
Who Killed Change?: Solving the Mystery of Leading People Through Change
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book Two Stars.
Here is my review.
A nice idea but done badly when the author is usually so good
The full title “Who Killed Change? Solving The Mystery Of Leading People Through Change” gives some hints that this shocking book is business training wrapped up in a murder mystery story. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on May 2, 2013
The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard & Spencer Johnson
Book Review – 5 Stars
If you have problems managing your team then I highly recommend this short, simple, easy to read The One Minute Manager.
The One Minute Manager – Simple Ideas Make A Big Difference To How Well Your Employees Work
The big ideas in the One Minute Manager book come down to three simple techniques
That is all there is to it. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on October 15, 2007
If you have problems with staff retention and you lose staff you don’t want to lose then you need to read this blog.
In my Partners For Profit newsletter for this week I will be sending out limited time access to a back copy of Better Business Focus from November 2006.
This includes a great article by Ken Blanchard (yes, the Ken Blanchard of One Minute Manager fame) about how to retain your staff called “The Talent Contest”.
In a survey that Ken’s company did, it was discovered that 50% or more of an individual’s job satisfaction depends on the relationship they have with their immediate manager. [continue reading…]
